Expression profile of several genes in human myometrium and uterine leiomyoma

ObjectiveTo screen several genes that are differentially expressed in uterine leiomyoma and matched unaffected myometrium by using microarray-based hybridization and real-time polymerase chain reaction analyses.DesignScreen by arrays for ≤2,400 known genes in leiomyoma and control myometrium.SettingUniversity clinical research laboratory.Patient(s)Four patients with leiomyoma scheduled for surgery during the proliferative phase.Intervention(s)Four paired samples of leiomyoma and adjacent myometrium were obtained from patients undergoing hysterectomy.Main Outcome Measure(s)Fold-changes in expression of leiomyoma and matched myometrium (L/M).Result(s)A comparison of expression patterns revealed 73 genes significantly up- or down-regulated in each paired tissue sample, of which 30 genes showed increased expression (mean L/M of >2) and 43 showed decreased expression (mean L/M of <0.5) in leiomyoma compared with normal myometrium. When considering only growth factors, pleiotropin (PTN) was expressed 3.5-fold more in leiomyomas compared with in myometrium. No other growth factors were similarly affected. In addition, real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis correlated well with microarray data.Conclusion(s)Data obtained from the present study suggest that several genes are selectively overexpressed in leiomyomas compared with in myometrium. Increased expression of growth factor PTN may represent a promising target for therapy.